


Long Day

by autisticblueteam



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Autistic Character, Autistic Character(s), Gen, Stimming, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-16 12:09:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7267561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autisticblueteam/pseuds/autisticblueteam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s one set back after another for Carolina and Epsilon; for every piece of information they gather and every base they have to escape from it seems they take another two steps back. So it’s been a long, tiring day, and Carolina needs a little help to calm down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Long Day

**Author's Note:**

> I got a prompt/request the other day for this and I had to do it. I will never turn down autistic Carolina content.

It had been a long day.

Carolina dropped down against the rock wall of the crevice that would provide her cover for tonight, the metal of her armour making an unpleasant thunk. Her nerves were more than a little on edge; it wasn’t that the escape from the strange mercenaries that seemed to be operating all over this planet had been difficult, but rather that it had been long and tedious and caused yet another set-back in their investigation.

“ _These low-level thugs sure aren’t quite as low-level as first suspected, huh?_ ” Epsilon’s hologram flickered into life, stood atop one of her knees, “ _They have some serious tech, still way above their paygrade but−_ ”

“But enough to keep causing us issues. I know. I get it,” Carolina grunted, leaning her head back against the wall. She flinched at the sound of her helmet meeting the rock.

She also flinched at the sound of Epsilon flicking out and then back into existence much closer to her face, and at the prickle of his concern she could feel in the back of her head.

“ _You okay C?_ ”

“I’m _fine_ ,” Carolina said, despite the way her teeth were gritted and the way her muscles tensed.

Epsilon’s helmet flashed away; his brows were furrowed, and the look he gave her was less than convinced.

“ _Carolina I’m connected to your neural network here. There’s really no point in lying to me, you know that right?_ ” He said, raising a brow. Carolina didn’t respond, her mind quiet and her face hidden from him by her helmet, “ _C’mon sis, what’s up? You’re not injured, unless my BioScan isn’t picking it up. So… What? You think you messed up? Because I don't think we did, we left that place in fucking pieces, C_ ,” There was no reaction, “ _No? Huh. You tired? Uterus trouble− Hey!_ ”

The flick in the head he earned with that particular comment disrupted his hologram for a few seconds.

“ _Okay message received, quit whilst I’m ahead and all that shit,_ ” He said, shuddering and shaking his head, “ _But seriously C, what’s up?_ ”

“I’m _fine_ , Epsilon,” She said, speaking through gritted teeth. Epsilon raised a brow again, so Carolina went to say more when there was a sudden crash−part of the rock wall breaking and hitting the floor no doubt−and she went rigid, teeth buried in her lip and fists clenched.

Epsilon’s eyes widened, “ _Oh my fucking_ god _I’m so stupid− Sensory overload. It’s fucking sensory overload, isn’t it?”_

“Epsilon it’s no−” His eyes narrowed, and he folded his arms. She sighed, “I… it could be, yes.”

“ _I don’t think there’s any ‘could be’ about it, sis! You’re all on edge and shit! It’s been a_ long fucking day _it’s honestly no wonder you’re overloaded! Okay, well, we’re doing something about this. Like, right now._ ”

Carolina chuckled dryly, “And what would you suggest we ‘do about’ it, Epsilon? I’m fine. There’s nothing to be done, I’ll just wait it out, just like I always do when I’m unable to use my normal methods.”

“ _Nu-uh, not happening,_ ” He tapped his foot against the ‘floor’ he stood on and tilted his head, “ _Okay your thing is like…_ ” He snapped his fingers a couple of times, “ _Pressure and texture, right?_ ”

“I mean, yes, but…” Carolina said, frowning. Epsilon was quick to cut her off once again.

“ _Okay yeah I can totally work with that,_ ” He said before disappearing, his presence weighing heavier on the back of Carolina’s head as he retreated back into her mind.

“Work with _what_ Epsilon? What are you doing?” She spoke aloud more out of habit than necessity now, her confusion would have come across just as well if she had spoken mentally.

_Helping you stim, duh. Like I said, I’m connected to your neural network, right?_

“I don’t understand where you’re going with this.”

 _Okay well, in_ theory _my connection to you via your implant means that I can like… manipulate your senses, sort of? It’s nothing invasive or anything, and you can override me at any point, but it means I can dull down some of the more annoying sensory input and also create_ new _sensory input, but like, the good kind._

There was a pause, and Carolina took that moment to start processing what he was saying before he spoke again.

_I mean I’m not gonna do anything without your say so, of course. But I totally could. Want me to show you what I mean?_

“I… suppose so?” Carolina said, after another moment’s pause, “I mean… yes. Alright.”

_Okay, in theory you’re gonna feel something resembling a hand on your shoulder… now._

Carolina jumped. Her head snapped to look for the culprit on instinct. Of course there was no one there, but the pressure of a hand curled around her shoulder felt so _real_. Almost as soon as it had appeared, however, it faded away.

_Sorry, should’ve gone with something less forceful. Sensory overload and all that. But hey, it worked! Want me to try properly? I swear on my coding it’ll work._

Carolina sighed, and gave him a quick internal reply. What did she have to lose by trying?

_Sweet! Alright, let’s give this a go…_

She rested back, not sure exactly what to expect and as such trying to be prepared for anything. There was no change for a long moment, or at least she didn’t think there was before realising that the background noise of the surrounding jungle had all but faded away. That alone didn’t have much of an effect on her, though it did help prevent her overload from getting worse, rather it was the sensation that followed shortly afterwards.

There was the gentle pressure and weight of something that resembled a weighted blanket engulfing her. It was odd, almost jarring, at first; she knew she was in her armour, she could see her HUD if nothing else, and so the sudden sensation of a blanket was confusing.

Epsilon spoke up again, briefly: _Take off your helmet and close your eyes._

Carolina hesitated, but knowing that Epsilon would still be watching out for signs of hostiles she did as she was told. With her head rested back against the wall; a soft breeze blowing her hair and tickling her face; and her eyes closed, she was able to focus on the feeling Epsilon was creating for her much more easily.

Every shift of her body was accompanied by the matching feeling of material brushing against her skin. It was all encompassing and familiar. The AI had clearly pulled the sensation’s patterns from her memories of her own blankets, the ones from years ago; it was so obvious, now that she could feel it again. It was comforting. She could feel her nerves buzzing in that same positive way that she’d always needed after a long day of training, the days she’d go back and take her blanket from its shelf and wrap herself up tight.

She missed that; it all felt so long ago now.

Before that thought could go too far she was distracted by the ‘blanket’ wrapping tighter around her, her body reacting instinctively and curling inwards at the pressure. Every little shift was still followed by the tickle of soft fabric against her skin, and the ‘blanket’ provided the same resistance against any outwards movement.

She was engulfed by a feeling of pleasant warmth that differed from the stifling heat of this planet’s day time weather. Her nerves were alight, but in a pleasant way now. She felt a relief flowing through her that she hadn’t felt in, quite possibly, years now. She hadn’t had the means to stim in ways that calmed her, not since before everything went to hell.

She hadn’t had anyone to help her, either.

And yet here she was now, with both.

_Aww look who’s getting all sentimental and shit._

Epsilon somehow recreated the sensation of having her hair ruffled, and she pulled a face and batted at the non-existent hand out of instinct. The sensation of the blanket followed, ever realistic.

“Shut up, you,” She retorted. There was no malice in her words, and the smile on her face undermined any intentions she may have had of sounding annoyed, “Thank you. This is… nice.”

_Such a way with words. Nah, don’t worry about it, it’s the least I can do. I don’t have to deal with this part so much myself anymore, y’know, synthetic body and all, so…_

Carolina’s smile spread.

She let herself just relax into the pleasant feeling, curling her arms around herself and bringing her knees up towards her chest. The overload had all but faded away, replaced instead by this sense of calm. It wasn’t long before the quiet sounds of the jungle that remained were blocked out by her own humming, the vibrations adding to the buzz and the sound making her smile.

It had been a long day. But at least she had someone around who knew exactly how to help her.


End file.
